Carton opener



March 3, 1942# E KROEMER 2,274,799

CARTON OPENER Filed Jan. 13, 1959 Jo seph E. Kro @mer Patented Mar. 3, 1942 UNTED STATES PATENT QFFICE CARTON OPENER Joseph E. Kroemer, St. Paul, Minn. Application January 13, 1939, Serialblo. 250,721

5 Claims.

My invention relates to carton openers and has for an object to provide an opener having a cutting blade and in further providing a guard therefor adapted to be moved from guarding to unguarding position.

Another object of thel invention resides in utilizing with the carton opening device a razor blade and in constructing the end of the edge of the body with which the razor blade is associated receding from the outermost portion thereof and in arranging said razor blade to extend outwardly from the receding portion of the edg of said body.

A feature of the invention resides in constructing the body with two plate-like bodymembers overlying one another and in disposing the blade in between said body member and in further providing a bolt extending jointly through said plate-like body members for clampingthe same together.

Another object of the invention resides in employing-a plate-like guard disposed between said body members and lying adjacent said blade and in providing said guard with an opening through which the bolt extends and by means of which the guard is pivoted.

A still further object of the invention resides in constructing the body with a lug adapted to hold the blade from rotation and in providing the guard with a slot through which the lug extends and by means of which the movement of the guard is limited.

An object of the invention resides in arranging said slot so that the guard may move from a position completely covering the exposed edge of the blade to a retracted position in which the exposed portion of the blade is available for use and to other intermediate positions.

Another object of the invention resides in constructing the guard with an edge providing a gauge surface for limiting the depth of cut of the blade when the guard is in one of its intermediate positions.

A feature of the invention resides in constructing the guard with a notch, forming thereon a finger piece by means of which the same may be manipulated.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illus-` trated and/or described.

In the drawing:

Fig; 1 is a` perspective View of a carton and bottle opener showing the guard in guarding position.

` showing the guard retracted and illustratingv the method of using `the invention for making a full depth cut. i

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the guard in position for limiting the depth of cut of the blade.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig.`2. f

My invention comprisesl a body Iii which is provided with two plate-like body members II and I2 preferably stamped fromsheet metal. Both of these body members are of the same form excepting that one is right hand and the other is left hand and when the said body members are assembled the edges of the same register with one another and give the desired outline to the body proper. The body I0 carries a carton opening device I3 and a bottle opening device I4. which will now be described invdetail.

The body I@ is constructed with two longitudinally extending spaced paralleledges I5 and I6. The edge I6 is bent back and receded, as indi-r cated at I8, which formation is disposed at one end of the said edge. The opposite edge- I5 of ythe body, at the same end, is rounded as designated at I9. The opposite end of the body IQ is provided with a head. 2| and the edge I 6 is curved at 22 to partly form the said head. i

The bottle opening device Ill comprises a hook 23 which is formed by removing a portion of the metal of both of thebody members w and-II to provide an opening 24. accessible from the edgel I5 of the body Ill. The head ZI extends out to substantially the width of the body as limited by the edges I5 and I6 and serves to guard the hook 23. Hook 23 is also disposed inwardly of the edge I5 so that the same is-further guarded. The portion 49 of the head 2i serves as a fulcrum for giving the leverage in the use of the hook 23. v

The carton opening device i3 utilizes a safety razor blade 25 which is disposed between the two plate-like body members i! and I2.- This` safety razor blade has a cutting edge 211* and-is so disposed that a portion 21' of said cutting edge projects outwardly beyond the portion yIt of the edge i6 of body I0. The said blade and the two body membersii and I2 are held in assembled position in the following manner: Issuing outwardly from the inner surface of the body member I2 are three lugs 28, 29 and 39 which register with three depressions 3l, 32 and 33 formed in the inner surface of the body member I I. The lugs 29 and 30 extend through openings Sii and 35 in the razor blade 25 and hold the said blade from movement. Extending jointly through the two body members II and I2 is a bolt 35 which also passes through the center hole 3l in the razor blade25. A wing nut 33 screwed upon the end of this bolt serves to clamp the parts in position and by means of the lugs 29 and 35, the razor blade is held from movement. When properly positioned, the end of the razor blade is disposed near the end of the body Il) and the portion 2I of the cutting edge 2E thereof projects outwardly from the portion i8 of the edge i5 'of said body.

In conjunction with the carton opening device I3, a guard 39 is employed. This guard is constructed in the form of a plate-like member preferably stamped from sheet metal and is disposed between the two body members II and I2 and adjacent the razor blade 25. Bolt 35 passes through this guard and the said guard becomes pivotally mounted thereon when the wing nut 38 is loosened. Guard 39 is constructed with a portion 4I which is adapted to be moved to a position such as shown in Fig. 3: in which the said guard covers the exposed portion 2'I of the cutting edge 2S of blade 25. The said guard may be moved to its opposite position as shown in Fig. 4 where the guard is fully receded and the exposed portion of the blade 25 arranged for use. To facilitate and limit movement of the guard 39, t'h'e same is constructed with an arcuate slot 42 through which the lug 3i! extends. This slot is constructed concentric with the axis of the blolt 36 and is of such a length that the lug 3o terminates movement of the guard when in its two extreme positions, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. 'Ihe guard 3S is constructed at its end with a notch 43 which forms in the guard a finger piece 44 which projects outwardly beyond the curved edge 'I9 of body I9 and by means of which the guard may be moved from one position to the other. The guard 39 has an edge 45 which extends in the same general direction as the edge 2B of the blade 25 and which, when the guard is moved to an intermediate position as lshown in Fig. 5, provides a gauge surface for limiting the depth of the cut made by the carton opening device.

In order to more readily manipulate the carton 'opening device, two wings 45 and l1 are formed on the body members 'II and I2 which wings are bent out therefrom and lie along the portions I8 of the edge I6 of body I0. Pressure may be applied tothe blade 25 by the thumb and ore-nger of the user and through the wings 45 and il while the vdevice is grasped by the hand with the remaining ngers engaging thgportion 22 of the edge I6 of body Il).

The use of the invention is as follows: Wh'en the device is to b'e used for cutting vthe full depth, guard 39 is arranged as shown in Fig. 4 and the nut 38 tightened up to clamp the parts in position. The opener is grasped, as previously explained, between the thumb and iore-nger, the said thumb and fore-finger resting upon the wings 56 and 47. At the same time the remaining ngers extend beneath' the edge I5 of the body ID and particularly the portion 22 thereof. Blade 25 is then forced through the wall of the carton tobe opened which in Fig. 4 is designated by the reference numeral 48. The opener is then drawn longitudinally and the wall 48 cut in a simple and expeditious manner. In certain cartons it becomes desirable to only cut through the first thickness of the wall to be opened. In Fig. 5 the opener has been shown as adjusted for this purpose. In this iigure the wall of the carton is illustrated as having two thicknesses of material 5I and 52. In the particular instance it is desirable to only cut through the thickness 5I. Toward this end guard 39 is so adjusted that the edge i5 thereof engages the upper sur- 'face of the thickness 5I when the blade 25 penetrates the said thickness. When the guard 39 is in proper position the wing nut 3B is screwed down and the parts rigidly held in the desired position. If the opener be now manipulated in the same manner as previously described, the upper thickness 5I only of the carton Wall is cut. W'hen the carton opening device is no longer needed theguard 39 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 and no injury to the user will result. Y

After the carton has been opened and it becomes desirable to open the bottles contained therein, the body I0 is reversed, as shown in Fig. l, and the hook 23 placed beneath the lcrown cap cf the bottle with the portion 49 of the head 2| serving as a ulcrum or resting against the upper surface of the lcrown cap. The device is grasped by placing the ngers beneath theportion of the edge I5 between the hook A23 `and the curved end I5 of body III and by placing the thumb upon the portion 22 of the edge I6. The device is then manipulated in the customary manner.

The advantages of my invention are mani-fest. An extremely simple and practical construction is provided which efliciently and effectively serves the desired purpose. My invention may be used both to open the cartons in which bottles are contained, 'as well as removing crowncaps from bottles. My improved carton opener `may be readily constructed from stampings and vat a nominal cost. With my invention the cutting blade may be completely guarded so that injury to the user is prevented. r'Also the guard may be used as a gauge'for determining the depth -of the cut. The parts are arranged so that the carton opening device and the bottle opening -device are disposed at opposite ends of the body and accessible from opposite sides of the body of the invention. In this manner the diagonally opposite portions of the opposed edges oi the body serve as finger pieces for engagement with the lingers of the user. In'this manner eaclh device is out of the way when the other is being used. My invention is -extremely compact and'occupies a minimum amount Vof space.

vChanges inthe specic form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within-the scope of what is claimed without departing -from the spirit of my invention.`

Having described my invention, 'what `Iclaim as new and desire -to'protect by LettersPate'nt is:

l. In combination, a body comprisinga'plate like body member, a Vsecondplate-likebody meinber overlying the rstfplate-'like body member, a cutting blade disposed between said plate-like body members, said cutting 'blade having acutting edge fixed relative to saidbodyand--a'platelike guard overlying said cutting bl-ade and 1disposed between said plate-like body membersya bolt extending jointly through said bodymembers, blade and guard, said guard being pivoted on said bolt and being adapted to be moved in a direction such that one edge thereof travels toward and from saidcutting edge, said guard being movable from a position guarding said exposed cutting edge to positions partly exposing said cutting edge whereby the edge of said guard engages the object cut and limits the depth of the cut made by said cutting edge.

2. In combination, a body comprising a platelike body member, a second plate-like body member overlying the rst plate-like body member, a cutting blade having two spaced openings therein and disposed between said plate-like body members, a plate-like guard over-lying said cutting blade and disposed between said plate-like body members, a bolt extending jointly through said body members and guard and through one of the openings in said blade, said guard being pivoted on said bolt, one of said body members having a raised portion adapted to be received within the other of the openings in said cutting blade and the other of said body members having a depression in which said raised portion is received whereby the cutting blade is held from rotation, said guard having an arcuate slot through which said raised portion extends, said slot limiting movement of said guard from a position guarding said cutting blade to a retracted position.

3. In combination, a body comprising a plate'- like body member, a second plate-like body member overlying the rst plate-like body member, a cutting blade having two spaced openings therein and disposed between said plate-like body members, a plate-like guard over-lying said cutting blade and disposed between said plate-like body members, a bolt extending jointly through said body members and guard and through one of the openings in said blade, said guard being pivoted on said bolt, engaging means carried by one of said body members and adapted to engage said blade within the other opening thereof, said guard having an arcuate slot through which said engaging means extends, said slot limiting movement of said guard from a, position guarding said cutting blade to a retracted position.

4. In combination, a body comprising a platelike body member, a second plate-like body member overlying the rst plate-like body member, a cutting blade having two spaced openings therein and disposed between said plate-like body members, a plate-like guard lover-lying said cutting blade and disposed between said plate-like body members, a bolt extending jointly through said body members and guard and through one of the openings in said blade, said guard being pivoted on said bolt, engaging means carried by one of said body members and adapted to engage said blade within the other opening thereof, said guard having a portion extending outwardly be- 'yond the end of the blade, and a finger notch formed in said portion of the guard and being disposed entirely beyond the endl of the blade.

5. In combination, a body comprising an elongated plate-like body member, a second elongated plate-like body member overlying the rst l disposed between said body members with a por` tion of the cutting edge disposed inwardly of one of the longitudinal edges and with another portion exposed by one of said longitudinal edges, a guard pivoted to said body members, said guard having a guage surface facing in the same direction as the exposed portion of said cutting edge, said guard being movable in a direction toward the back edge of the blade to vary the distance between the cutting edge and guage surface, and means for clamping the guard and blade relative to one another and to said body members in any of its adjusted positions.

JOSEPH E. KROEMER. 

